Obama’s fair way to reduce rough job stress

O ur formidable Ocean Course will present a major challenge for the world’s best golfers in the PGA Championship starting Thursday on Kiawah Island. But for the world’s most powerful man, as for millions of his fellow Americans, playing golf doesn’t induce stress.

It relieves it.

So while you can fairly fault President Barack Obama for running up the three biggest federal deficits ever (with a fourth one coming), you shouldn’t begrudge his breaks from the taxing-and-spending grind to go hunting for birdies — or at least pars.

Yes, he did play, by CBS News’ tally, his 104th round of golf as president Friday at a course on Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Hey, it was his 51st birthday. And all work and no play makes presidents less effective, judging from Jimmy Carter’s example.

Anyway, even if Mr. Obama wins re-election and keeps driving, chipping and putting at his first-term pace, he would finish a distant third behind Woodrow Wilson (an estimated 1,200) and Dwight Eisenhower (about 800) for the most presidential golf rounds, according to ABC News.

Meanwhile, ponder some expert insight on Mr. Obama’s golf habit.

English pro Paul Casey, who starts the PGA on No. 10 Thursday at the Ocean Course, told The New York Times two years ago: “If he’s losing lots and lots of golf balls, then he’ll have to buy a lot of new ones, and maybe that will spur growth. And people will find his lost golf balls and sell those as collector’s items. More growth, right?”

OK, so that’s a silly economic approach shot.

But so is imagining that Mr. Obama would be a better president if he didn’t play so much golf.

Actually, considering the unemployment and debt numbers on his Oval Office scorecard, maybe he should spend even more time on the links.